November 29, 2009

I like this Christian initiative, called the Manhattan Declaration. The statement was crafted by Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Evangelical religious leaders in Manhattan in late September, 2009. Go here to add your name to the statement, which has 196,490 signers.

A Call of Christian Conscience

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

the sanctity of human life

the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife

the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I like very much the coming together of so many Christian denominations, and I especially like the three topics which they have chosen: sanctity of life, sanctity of marriage, and religious freedom. Bulwarks of our civilization, well worth defending and promoting, without apology.

June 08, 2008

Similar to the situation in Boston last year, Catholic adoption agencies in England are being told they must place children in gay households. These agencies are not preventing gay couples from adopting children from other agencies, in fact, they give referrals. They are simply placing the children in their program in households with a married man and woman or heterosexual single parents. Which is apparently against the law in England, just like in Massachusetts. Who would have thought our society would turn upside-down so quickly? When will the pendulum come back to center?

"The agency, in continual operation since 1886, was closely linked
with the diocese and supported in its work by funds collected in the
local parishes."

"The Equality Act, which comes into effect on New Year's Day, forbids
discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of
sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year
despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic
adoption agencies be exempted from the rules."

Unlike the Archdiocese of Boston of, which didn't put up a fight, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, president of the Westminster Catholic Children's Society, isn't caving in.

"The Westminster Catholic Children's Society, whose
president is Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, will ignore new rules
that require it to place children with same-sex couples."

"While
other Catholic adoption agencies are caving in to the legislation by
severing their ties with the Church or even closing, the Westminster
Society will continue its policy of placing children only with married
heterosexuals and single people."

Forcing the shutdown of Catholic adoption agencies, which have been enormously successful for well over a hundred years at placings kid in families, is madness. Where is the freedom of religion anymore in Western society? Why do the "rights" of gay activists trump the rights of practicing Catholics, not to mention the rights of children to have a mother and a father? I hope Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor prevails.

"The answer is that there are limits to what a minority faith can expect in the way of accommodation.....The law can require
reasonable accommodations for minorities, but reasonable does not mean
that the rest of society need to alter its values to satisfy the
convenience of the few."

"In those cases where
institutions do rightly accommodate minorities, such as the provision
of cafeterias where kosher and halal food can be obtained, as is the
case at Harvard and many other schools, the accommodation does not
exclude people since anyone can elect to eat a kosher sandwich."

As opposed to women-only gym hours where male students and male workers are excluded. Tobin points out the obvious, that Islamists are engaged in a jihad against the Western way of thinking, living and governance, which somehow eluded Harvard:

"It would, however, be
disingenuous to debate this case without acknowledging that it's being
discussed in a context in which an aggressive Islam is fighting for
control of not only Muslim and Arab societies, but the West as well."

"While the left-liberal milieu of Cambridge might be a long way
from a debate about the viability of the imposition of Sharia, or
Muslim religious law .... on our society,
but there is little question that Islamists are pushing in a direction
that should worry everyone."

"That includes moderate Muslims, who will now face additional
pressures -- even in hyper-secular Harvard, or anywhere else where such
demands are met -- to conform to the behavioral norms sought by the
ultra-religious."

"American Jews, who have
always fought to protect the few from having the majority trample their
rights, are naturally sympathetic to the desire of another minority for
respect. But we should shrink from backing measures of highly selective
and politicized 'tolerance' which may be the forerunner of other
demands that will restrict rather than expand religious and political
liberty."

"A Harvard gymnasium isn't necessarily the place where the West
must begin its defense against jihad. But what at first glance seemed
like an easy way to indulge a minority might well be the harbinger of
something much more troubling."

Muslim parents in England objected to introducing homosexuality to first graders and to the lack of parental consultation. Same as the Parkers here in Massachusetts, but with a completely different outcome. The Parkers were basically told: tough luck, your kids are in a public school. "Diversity is the hallmark of our society", said the judge. Well, clearly not all diversity is equally respected.....

Do first graders really need to learn about homosexuality at school?

Would the Lexington public school system have reacted differently if Muslim parents had complained about the book instead of Christian parents?

"Doha, 31 March (AKI) - (by Ahmad Rafat) - Qatar's first church, Our Lady of the Rosary, opened its doors only two weeks ago."

"After years of delicate negotiations, the Vatican was finally granted permission to construct the first church in Qatar. Now similar negotiations are underway in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where churches are not allowed."

"...To avoid upsetting the local people or attracting the attention of Islamic extremists, the church has neither a bell tower nor an external cross... Before entering the church, the faithful must pass through a metal detector, and the police are present at the building to maintain security."

"Miguel and Corazon, who have lived in Qatar for ten years, had to go to to Dubai to baptise their two children. 'Our son can take his first communion in Doha and we can celebrate it without being afraid of being expelled,' said Corazon."

"...Qater's emir, who succeeded his father in 1995, is taking important steps in many fields, not just economic, to develop the country. The opening of the church in Doha is a tangible sign of how this tiny emirate has changed even if certain taboos remain banning every form of proselytism and the conversion of Muslims to Christianity."

Not to get overly excited about one church, but it's progress. Let's hope there are many more!

March 28, 2008

"A self-described revolution in world affairs has begun in the heart of one man. He is the Italian journalist and author Magdi Cristiano Allam, whom Pope Benedict XVI baptized during the Easter Vigil at St Peter's. Allam's renunciation of Islam as a religion of violence and his embrace of Christianity denotes the point at which the so-called global 'war on terror' becomes a divergence of two irreconcilable modes of life: the Western way of faith supported by reason, against the Muslim world of fatalism and submission."

"As Magdi Allam recounted , on his road to conversion the challenge that Pope Benedict XVI offered to Islam in his September 2006 address at Regensburg was 'undoubtedly the most extraordinary and important encounter in my decision to convert'. Osama bin Laden recently accused Benedict of plotting a new crusade against Islam, and instead finds something far more threatening: faith the size of a mustard seed that can move mountains. Before Benedict's election, I summarized his position as 'I have a mustard seed and I'm not afraid to use it.' Now the mustard seed has earned pride of place in global affairs."

"....Magdi Allam presents an existential threat to Muslim life, whereas other prominent dissidents, for example Ayaan Hirsi Ali, offer only an annoyance. Much as I admire Hirsi Ali, she will persuade few Muslims to reconsider their religion..... Why would Muslims trade the spiritual vacuum of Islam for the spiritual sewer of Dutch hedonism? The souls of Muslims are in agony. The blandishments of the decadent West offer them nothing but shame and deracination. Magdi Allam agrees with his former co-religionists in repudiating the degraded culture of the modern West, and offers them something quite different: a religion founded upon love."

"....As I wrote in 2005, 'Now that everyone is talking about Europe's demographic death, it is time to point out that there exists a way out: convert European Muslims to Christianity.' Today's Europeans stem from the melting-pot of the barbarian invasions that replaced the vanishing population of the Roman Empire. The genius of the Catholic Church was to absorb them. If Benedict XVI can convert this new wave of invaders from North Africa and the Middle East, history will place him on a par with his great namesake, the founder of the monastic order the bears his name."

* Matthew 17:20, "And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to
you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to
this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and
nothing shall be impossible to you."

March 27, 2008

I was so moved by the Easter Vigil baptism of Magdi Allam, Italian Muslim newspaper editor and writer. Can you imagine? Baptized by Pope Benedict?!! Converts very often appreciate their faith so much more than those born into it ("cradle Catholics"). Both the Pope and Magdi Allam have made a powerful statement about freedom of religion, free will, love and redemption.

Here is Magdi Christian Allam's statement about converting to Catholicism, published the day after his public baptism in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Some excerpts:

"Yesterday evening I converted to the Christian Catholic religion,
renouncing my previous Islamic faith. Thus, I finally saw the light, by
divine grace -- the healthy fruit of a long, matured gestation, lived
in suffering and joy, together with intimate reflection and conscious
and manifest expression."

"I am especially grateful to his holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who
imparted the sacraments of Christian initiation to me, baptism,
confirmation and Eucharist, in the Basilica of St. Peter’s during the
course of the solemn celebration of the Easter Vigil. And I took the
simplest and most explicit Christian name: “Cristiano.” Since yesterday
evening therefore my name is Magdi Crisitano Allam."

"For me it is the most beautiful day of [my] life. To acquire the
gift of the Christian faith during the commemoration of Christ’s
resurrection by the hand of the Holy Father is, for a believer, an
incomparable and inestimable privilege. At almost 56 […], it is a
historical, exceptional and unforgettable event, which marks a radical
and definitive turn with respect to the past."

"The miracle of Christ’s resurrection reverberated through my soul,
liberating it from the darkness in which the preaching of hatred and
intolerance in the face of the 'different,' uncritically condemned as
'enemy,' were privileged over love and respect of 'neighbor,' who is
always, an in every case, 'person'; thus, as my mind was freed from the
obscurantism of an ideology that legitimates lies and deception,
violent death that leads to murder and suicide, the blind submission to
tyranny, I was able to adhere to the authentic religion of truth, of
life and of freedom."

"On my first Easter as a Christian I not only discovered Jesus, I
discovered for the first time the face of the true and only God, who is
the God of faith and reason. My conversion to Catholicism is the
touching down of a gradual and profound interior meditation from which
I could not pull myself away, given that for five years I have been
confined to a life under guard, with permanent surveillance at home and
a police escort for my every movement, because of death threats and
death sentences from Islamic extremists and terrorists, both those in
and outside of Italy."

March 25, 2008

"Tehran, 19 March (AKI) - In its first session since last week's general elections, the new Iranian parliament is expected to discuss a law that will condemn to death anyone who decides to leave the Muslim faith and convert to other religions."

"The parliament, also known as the Majlis, will debate the new law which has been presented by the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."

"Under the proposed law, anyone who is born to Muslim parents and decides to convert to another faith, will face the death penalty."

"Currently converts, particularly those who have decided to leave the Muslim faith for Evangelical churches, are arrested and then released after some years of detention."

Why the call for the death penalty (instead of just imprisonment) now? Apparently, people are leaving the Islamic faith in droves in Iran.

"There has also been concern over fact that many young people in Iran have abandoned Islam because they're tired of the many restrictions imposed by the faith."

"According to unofficial sources, in the past five years, one million Iranians, particularly young people and women, have abandoned Islam and joined Evangelical churches."

"Anwar Ashiqi, president of the Saudi centre for Middle East
strategic studies, endorsed this view in an interview on the site of
Arab satellite TV network, al-Arabiya on Thursday 'I haven taken part in several meetings related to
Islamic-Christian dialogue and there have been negotiations on this
issue,' he said. 'It would be possible to launch official negotiations to construct
a church in Saudi Arabia only after the Pope and all the Christian
churches recognise the prophet Mohammed.' "

" 'If they don't recognise him as a prophet, how can we have a church in the Saudi kingdom?' "

Sorry, the Vatican won't recognize him as a prophet for anyone except Muslims. Jews do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and neither Jews nor Christians recognize Muhammed as a prophet.

"A member of Saudi Arabia's Consultative Council, Abdelaziz al-Thinani... said the issue of human rights should not be used to call for the
construction of a Christian church."

It would be amazing to see churches built in KSA! But until there are churches in Saudi Arabia, there should be no funding of mosques by Saudi Arabia in the U.S. Reciprocity in religious freedom, that's all we ask.

UPDATE: Friday, 3-21 - On Jay Leno Tonight show, Leno commented on this. "A church in Saudi Arabia? Yeah, I hear they're gonna call it the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Terror."

There were a few signers to that letter that I'm familiar with: CAIR's Nihad Awad, a Muslim Brotherhood director from Jordan, Zaid Shakir and Hamza Yusuf Hanson of the Zaytuna Institutte, and ISNA's Ingrid Mattson. I don't know who they represent or why they can claim to speak for Muslims. They appear to be Islamic supremacists, based on what they say. The letter didn't impress me much, I'm not a fan of symbolic gestures. I'd be way more impressed if Zaid Shakir called for abolishing laws against changing one's faith in Muslim countries, or if Ingrid Mattson called for protection for Christian churches from being burned to the ground in Indonesia. I'd be impressed if Nihad Awad offered free legal services to apostates being prosecuted in Malaysia or Afghanistan. But no, instead of actually working towards religious freedom and mutual religious respect around the world, this self-appointed religious committee writes a letter. Sounds good, nice gesture, but accomplishes nothing.

On November 1, 2997, another self-appointed committee of religious clerics wrote a letter in response, this time a Christian group affiliated with the Yale Divinity School. The letter was titled, A Christian Response to 'A Common Word Between Us and You.' I found it deeply disturbing, and I was relieved (a little) that few Catholics were signatories. Lots of evangelicals, oddly enough. Recently indicted Mark Siljander was a signer! Here's the preamble:

August 08, 2007

Every day, around the world, someone is forced to change their religion or is not allowed to change. Some recent examples:

"A Muslim convert to Christianity filed suit against Egypt last week for refusing to legally recognize his change of religion, sparking a reactionary lawsuit by Muslim clerics and death threats against his lawyer. Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy, 24, brought a case against Egypt’s interior ministry on Thursday (August 2) for rejecting his application to replace Islam with Christianity on his personal identification papers.....Though Egyptian law does not forbid conversion from Islam to Christianity, it provides no legal means to make the change. Converts to Christianity usually hide their identity to avoid torture and forced recantation at the hands of family members and security police."

In Egypt, an administrative court ruled in April 2007 that a Christian who had converted to Islam could not convert back to Christianity. The court ruling stated: "Anyone who leaves his Christian religion in order not to return to it and enters the religion of Islam entirely of his own free will and without coercion is committed to its laws and principles, including not harboring any intentions to deny Islam or to leave it afterwards... Islam does not permit anyone who enters it of his own free will to leave it... for the sake of a particular aim or to change his religion as the wind changes direction..." Memri has a collection of commentaries on the ruling.

January 30, 2007

"In the United States a number of people said to be related to the leader of Pakistan’s Jama’at al-Dawa either face deportation or are under the threat of deportation. One is his alleged brother (he denies it) Muhammad Masud, the imam of a Boston mosque, while Mahmood Hamid and Abdul Hannan, also clerics, are under a shadow because of their alleged familial connections with the leader of Jama’at al-Dawa."

"Who has come to their defence? Deacon Mike Iwanowicz, of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, Rabbi Barry Starr of Temple Israel and the Rev Deborah Cayer of the Unitarian Church of Sharon. They have dismissed the family link as ‘guilt by association’ and defended the Muslim clerics. If the said Islamists are not deported they will owe their residence in the US to these Christians and Jews. Can we too come to the rescue of the Christian church in Pakistan when it is under threat from such laws as Blasphemy?Can some of us realise that it is wrong to burn down the churches — the last one was in Sangla Hill near Lahore — of our Christian citizens?"

Two things:

1) The editorial is somewhat misleading. Imams Abdul Hannan and Muhammed Masood aren't facing possible deportation becausee they are related to Hafiz Saeed. Hannan and Masood were arrested as part of a nation-wide sweep in November 2006, when 33 people (mostly Pakistani) were arrested on charges of religious visa fraud. The connection to Saeed apparently became known after that. We need to wait and see what happens when Imams Hannan and Masood have their immigration hearings and/or court trials. Let the justice system do its work.

2) I'm delighted to read a Pakistani newspaper editorial decrying the persecution of Christians in Pakistan (I don't believe there are any Jews left there). When the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) talks about being denied their "freedom of religion" because people are asking questions about their leadership and financial matters, it makes me want to scream. The ISB, Muslim American Society (MAS) and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) are only too eager to claim that their religious freedoms are being denied in the United States, for all manner of (usually ridiculous) reasons. Yet they are silent about Christian churches being burned to the ground in Pakistan and Indonesia and Turkey. Not a peep from the ISB, MAS or CAIR when Christians are attacked, arrested and jailed for blasphemy in Pakistan. There is tremendous religious persection going on around the world. I'd love for once for ISB/MAS/CAIR to talk about that, and to acknowledge that the U.S. offers perhaps the greatest religious freedom of any country on the planet Earth.

Back to former Imam Masood and his interfaith supporters from Sharon, MA: It could be brilliant, actually, if Muhammed Masood were to be deported back to Pakistan. Then he could use all that he's learned about interfaith dialogue and practice it in Pakistan, where it is sorely needed. He could invite his interfaith friends to visit him and they can all hold workshops to explain the tenets of their faiths. Masood could teach the Pakistani terrorist groups who are sending young men to be suicide bombers (which happens nearly every day), that it's wrong, that Islam is really a religion of peace which forbids suicide. It could be a fantastic opportunity for Mahood and his interfaith friends. One door might close, but many others will open!